Meet Me Halfway
by VampyreChildLynx
Summary: Francis is forced to remember a painful one-sided love. Much Sprance-ing to be had and yes this is lemony yaoi, Don't like? Don't Read!  This is an Off Shoot of A Little Less Maple Syrup a Little More Action, it can stand alone, but its better with both.


Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia...but I do secretly ship this pairing more than I should! WARNING! Selfless Francis in this chapter!

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><p>Francis tossed his phone aside and rolled onto his stomach on his bed. His house was surprisingly silent. The silence seemed to be swallowing him.<p>

Damn Gilbert back to whatever hell he'd come from. His long closed wounds were once again opened.

He'd thought he was over it by now, but that was obviously not the case.

"_I'll tell Emma, Romano, and Arthur all about what you and Antonio were doing together up until 8 months ago, while she was still dating him"_

He hadn't been made to promise not to tell, but it was an unspoken understanding between he and Antonio. Antonio definitely didn't want his dear Romano to know. He had never really considered Arthur though, because he and the Brit didn't even pretend they were together.

But it did matter if he knew that he and Antonio were closer than he already knew.

Indeed.

He closed his eyes and could smell Antonio's skin on his.

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><p>4 years ago<p>

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><p>Francis sat alone in his room with his back propped up against his headboard flipping through a catalog. His shoulder length blond hair in a loose ponytail at the base of his neck.<p>

"What are you doing, Franny?" Antonio asked, his wide green eyes shining just over the clothing catalog that Francis was flipping through.

Francis lifted his eyes to glance into his friend's confused face and back down at his catalog. "We're going to be in high school in two months you idiot. I'm ordering clothes," Francis said redirecting his attention to the magazine.

Antonio eyed the catalog suspiciously. "Um...you're going to be ordering Christian Dior? For High School?" he asked.

"Of course, where else would I order from? JCPenny? I think not! Besides _Mama_ has connections," he said smiling. Then he jumped..._where__ the __hell__ had__ Antonio __come __from?_ "What are you doing here anyway? And why did you climb through my window?" Francis asked, belated realizing that Antonio had climbed through his unlocked balcony window.

A big goofy grin spread on his friend's face and Antonio jumped as if he'd just remembered something. "Oh! I came to tell you I got a girlfriend!" Antonio said, his usual huge grin on his tan face.

Francis dropped his catalog in utter shock. He stared at his best friend in awe.

"Pfft," Francis snorted with laughter after a moment. Then he burst into hysterical laughter.

Antonio blinked owlishly at his laughing friend. Then his normally cheerful brow furrowed. "Oi, Francis! Why are you laughing? I said I got a girlfriend!" Antonio whined.

Francis gaped again at Antonio. _He'd __thought__ he __was__ joking._

He'd known Antonio almost his whole life. Their parents even worked closely together.

While Francis' parents owned and flipped properties, Antonio's family managed some of those properties.

They'd always been together...and he still couldn't imagine what kind of woman would have Antonio.

As much as he loved his friend, he was pretty dense and very naive. Passionate to a fault about things he committed himself to, and possessing a hidden temper that he hid effortlessly most of the time behind a sunny grin.

He belatedly got his wits about him and managed to close his mouth, before blurting, "Who?"

Antonio smiled wider. " You know that evil kid in our science class last year who laid an open stapler in the teacher's chair?" he said eyebrow raised.

"Yeah that brace-face, Gilbert? Is it HIM?" Francis asked with a horrified expression. _Please __say__ no!_

"No! His cousins just moved into one of our buildings, and the girl is 2 years younger than us! Her name is Emma!" Antonio said indignantly.

"Oh," Francis said with no emotion, not sure if this was actually better.

"Well...what is she like?" Francis asked

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><p>Present<p>

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><p>Francis rolled over and opened his eyes to look at the ceiling.<p>

Antonio had not been able to really tell him about her because he was so excited. All he would say is, _she's__ great __and__ she__ speaks __French__ like __you!_

He remembered the twinkle in his emerald eyes as he talked about going to the movies, the mall, even the arcade...with Emma.

All the places that they had gone together since he could remember.

Something in him had never forgiven Antonio for going to all of their favorite spots with Emma, but even now he knew how petty that was.

And he met the girl at their most sacred of hang outs. The Mall.

He could still remember when he first met Emma.

* * *

><p>4 Years Ago<p>

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><p>"<em>What's<em>_ so __special __about __her?__" _Francis thought as he stared at the blonde girl rudely. She was pretty well developed for a seventh grader,sure, but she still had a ways to go in Francis' opinion.

And Francis was _le__ roi__ de __la __romance_!

She was taller than most girls her age, and though she had a slight swell to her hips and the buds of breasts, she was still very girlish. Skinny arms and legs and the remnants of the awkward gawk she was quickly outgrowing.

To her credit, at least she didn't look like her delinquent brother or cousin and she had a ridiculously innocent face, and obviously Antonio had a serious lolicon complex...

"Ahem. _Salut!_ My name is Emma," she said extending her hand, obviously a little uncomfortable with the way Francis was staring at her.

"Francis," he'd said, adopting a quite snobbish tone and continuing to stare at her down his nose like she was something disgusting.

The girl stared hard at him with her big green eyes. She seemed to analyze him as hard as he was analyzing her. With a short nod of her blond curled head she seemed to make a decision.

He should have known what was going to happen back then, because he had seen Gilbert get the same glint in his eye right before he did something mischievous. But he hadn't know Gilbert as well then.

With little warning she abruptly spun into Antonio's arms and nuzzled his neck. Then she stood on tip toe and kissed him lightly on the lips.

Francis would have shot her...had he a gun to hand. Unfortunately, all he had was a very fashionable Versace scarf, that he wasn't willing to ruin by strangling the little tart.

Antonio on the other hand was utterly delighted with the attention and seemed utterly ignorant of the battle, between his girlfriend and his best friend. He'd nuzzled his nose against hers and hugged her back!

Francis wasn't sure why he'd been invited to the mall with them, he felt utterly uncomfortable as the third wheel. It had to be Antonio's idea of hanging out with his best friend and best girl, because he was almost positive that Emma _would __not_ have invited him.

He watched the two of them walking in front of him smiling and laughing between them.

He had to admit they looked really good together and they both had very sunny smiles! For all that Antonio was dark with his dark hair, dusky skin and deep emerald eyes, she was light with her blond hair, creamy complexion and lighter green eyes.

They looked almost too good together...

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><p>Present<p>

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><p>...and that had killed him.<p>

He hadn't realized it before that day, but he was jealous of Emma. Jealous of what she was to Antonio. Jealous of the attention he paid her. Jealous of how she looked with him.

Jealous of her...and in love with Antonio.

How could he have fallen in love with someone like Antonio? Well he had the most beautiful smile. He was entirely too nice and easy going for his own good. He was passionate, which Francis adored.

And he was sexy as hell. Antonio was the reason that he was bi, but heavily leaning on the side of gay.

Soft curly dark hair, beautiful large emerald eyes, and a complexion that he thought complemented his much paler one. Oh...and the best ass...EVER.

As a result of learning these feelings he'd decided that he should remove himself from the giggly perfect couple.

He'd eventually started to hang out with other kids in their freshman class, trying to escape from being lonely without Antonio.

He'd become friends mainly with the brace-face German kid Gilbert and his Dutch cousin Lars, who was Emma's brother. Also an aloof, and even more snobbish than he, Austrian guy named Roderich. And with a Hungarian girl named Elizabeta who had a serious yaoi fetish that amused him to no end, mainly because she let him borrow from her collection.

His new friends were all pretty cool. And as much as he didn't like Emma, her brother Lars hated Antonio.

Life seemed to go on with less Antonio...and eventually he even managed to develop a cordial friendship with Emma herself, though the battle lines were still clear. Really their only common ground was their appreciation for French culture.

Antonio and Emma stayed together for a whole year before the first big blow out.

* * *

><p>3 years ago<p>

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><p>Francis was in his room utterly engrossed in a French Drama he was streaming on his laptop.<p>

Rainy days suck! And that was all there was to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

He was so into the drama he had almost ignored the tapping on his window. A bit irritated, he hit pause and was startled to find a drenched and defeated Antonio standing on his balcony tapping lightly on the window.

He was dressed in a fitted graphic tee and fitted jeans and appeared to be soaked to the bone.

He slammed the laptop shut and rushed to let the drenched Spanish boy in, forgetting his own overly casual dress. Francis usually didn't let anyone see him lounging in his sweats rolled up to the knee and T-shirt with his hair in a bandana, but Antonio was the exception, and this was an emergency.

"Antonio! Why are you outside in the rain _mon__ ami_?"he asked frantically rushing Antonio in and rushing to the hall closet to fetch him a towel.

Antonio said nothing and wouldn't even look up at his friend. Francis draped the towel over the dripping dark hair and tried to raise Antonio's face in his hands. The large green, and usually cheerful eyes, were red and puffy and wet. Antonio wouldn't look up.

"_Mon __copain?_" Francis said almost pleading for an answer, bending to try to look into the face he could not see.

"Him. She chose him, and they are moving out of the building. We are done," Antonio muttered, no longer crying but he sounded exhausted.

To someone not familiar with the situation, it would seem that he had lost his girlfriend to another guy.

That was only partially true.

Emma's family was a tumultuous and split one. She and her brother had moved in with their mother after their parents divorce. Since her family moved in, Antonio and Emma's brother, Lars, had not gotten along. Eventually Lars moved out and a couple of streets down with his dad. For the past year they had been waging a not so silent battle, Emma in the crossfire.

Apparently she had chosen to follow her brother. And no wonder...he was her family.

But seeing Antonio hurt, hurt him.

There was an awkward suspension of activity, that Francis didn't know how to fill. Usually Antonio would be talking – rambling – about random things during the silences.

He had to cheer Antonio up. But he only knew of one way to do that on a rainy day, when he was so emotionally exposed.

Francis looked into those deep lost, and hopeless green eyes and couldn't help himself. If he was full of nothing else, it was romance. And he loved Antonio, he'd admitted it to himself a year ago when he'd met Emma, and now was a tragic yet romantic moment.

Francis brushed an escaped lock of his medium length blond hair behind his ear and leaned in to seal the distance Antonio's girlfriend had caused permanently between the best friends.

He lifted Antonio's chin so the Spanish boy was looking at him. He stared for a moment into those beautiful green eyes.

He leaned in half way to Antonio's lips and stopped.

He needed Antonio to complete the distance...if he did then there were no holds barred. Antonio had come to him for comfort, but he wouldn't force him into this kind of comfort. Antonio had to decide.

Antonio seemed a bit startled at first. He looked with puzzled puffy green eyes into Francis' gleaming blue ones.

Francis closed his eyes and chuckled..._I__ chose __the __wrong __thing..._

Just as he was thinking that he had been too impulsive he felt the butterfly touch of Antonio's lips on his. The kiss was so innocent it made him want to cry.

For such a light kiss, Francis felt himself burning for the entirely too light touch.

He chuckled against Antonio's lips and lightly pulled the Spanish boy's face closer making the kiss a little more romantic. He slowly wrapped his arms around Antonio's neck as they came apart for breath.

He looked into those eyes again and Antonio was looking back at him with an emotion he couldn't identify. _Was __he __loved__ back?_

He knew he was treading deep water here...but he didn't know how deep.

He'd forgotten that for all Antonio seemed childish and naïve, he was also extremely passionate about everything he did. As much so as Francis was romantic in everything he did.

He felt warm hands firmly around his scrawny waist, and he was firmly pushed against the wall and into a deeper kiss.

Something had snapped in Antonio at the border where their lips had met. Francis felt himself moan. He could hear nothing but the sound of his own blood pumping loudly in his ears, and the wet sound of lips and tongues in the battle of lust.

That, however, was not the only place blood was pumping...

He no longer had control of himself or the kiss.

Antonio was pressing him into his bedroom wall and making love to his mouth. He rubbed his lower body sinuously against the other boy's equally hyperactive nether region.

He dimly remembered that he'd intended for this to be romantic, but unfortunately he was a 15 year old boy and so was his body.

This was not to be the romantic coupling that Francis had intended, but a passionate and animalistic release of emotions for Antonio. _And__ for __you,_Francis' mind had to remind him.

Dimly Francis also realized that he was about to violently lose his virginity to his best friend...who was a guy. But turned on as he was he didn't care if it was his last time or if Antonio was a wild yeti as long as it happened soon.

The two fifteen year old boys awkwardly fumbled with their extremely inconvenient clothes, finally settling just to remove their pants. This proved difficult with how drenched Antonio was.

Coming out of a particularly passionate kiss, Antonio let his hands trail down Francis' skinny body and down to cup his now bare bottom.

"I don't know how this is suppose to work _mi__ amigo_, but I need it to work soon," he said thrusting his hips with his last words for emphasis.

_Damn did he have to sound so sexy, when had Antonio's voice gotten like that?_

Francis temporarily came out of his lustful stupor to ponder this particular inquiry. He'd read enough yaoi, he kind of knew what to do. And he could tell by the way Antonio was attacking his neck and thrusting at him that he was going to be the bottom in this particular coupling. He had always imagined Antonio on the bottom. Oh well.

He quickly grabbed some hand lotion on his bedside table and squeezed a good amount into both hands and with one hand he reached down and stroked Antonio's cock.

Antonio's head fell forward abruptly and hit the wall over Francis' shoulder and he let out a sound that was some where between a grunt and a moan. "_Ay__¡ Dios __mío! _Warn me...before you touch it," he got out, before another moan.

"Just don't start reciting the rosary or I will hit you," Francis said with a chuckle at how turned on Antonio was.

Once he'd finished with Antonio's cock, he gingerly got on his bed and bent over and inserted a finger into himself. He felt awfully awkward doing this in front of Antonio, but he hadn't run away yet so it might be okay.

He took his time and added another finger. He scissored and found himself moaning, this was painful! He chanced another minute of stretching before he was brave enough to lower his upper body to the bed and raise his bottom in the air.

Antonio's eyes were glazed with lust and he was touching himself. He said not another word, but firmly grasped Francis by the hips, which caused the French boy to yelp in surprise. Antonio positioned himself clumsily with one hand and began to push in.

As he pressed the tip in he saw Francis bite his sheets and slam his hand on the bed in pain. Antonio, too was in pain, it was so tight. Almost too tight.

"_Tranquilo_, _mi__ amigo_, you'll...break...me!" Antonio grunted out.

Antonio reached around to handle Francis' cock which sufficiently loosened him and elicited a sexy moan. Antonio pushed the rest of the way in. "_Toni_...move..."Francis moaned under him.

"Won't it...hurt more?" Antonio asked. Francis was panting hard. "It already hurts a lot! But yes...you will feel good,_ mon ami_. Just keep touching me..."Francis whined.

Antonio moved.

It didn't take long...the first time never does.

The two collapsed on the bed, Antonio promptly rolling off of Francis, before they both passed out from their exertions and different emotions.

* * *

><p>Present<p>

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><p>That first excursion in sex had changed Francis permanently. Before that he had been a pure romantic , believing that love was the answer to all.<p>

But when he and Antonio had gotten up the next day, and Antonio had not only still not been in love with him, but was still not over Emma. Francis' fairy tale world had crashed.

Antonio did not want a relationship with him. He didn't want to fight and meet Francis halfway in a romantic way. The emotion in his eyes...had been lust not love.

He realized that they were always going to be friends. Just sometimes they would be sex friends.

It was at that time, that he'd begun to sleep around with men and women, playing all roles in many kinds of relationships. But he only bottomed for Antonio, his love. He was a shell looking for it's filling.

And every time, Antonio and Emma had gotten back together and then broken up, which by their junior year was over ten times, he would be the trash can for Antonio's emotions and sexual tensions.

They would fuck like rabbits, and Antonio would go back to Emma, while Francis reveled in the moments he had to touch and be touched by Antonio.

But with each time, that Francis emptied Antonio's emotional trash, he emptied his soul of yet another broken shard of his romantic dream world.

And then seven months ago, Antonio and Emma had called it quits for good, and Antonio had begun to pursue Romano. And even though they weren't officially dating and Antonio was constantly rejected by him, Antonio had not sought comfort in Francis' arms since.

Originally it had hurt Francis to the bone. He could no longer have those secret touches of Antonio. Nor feel like he belonged to Antonio...and vice versa.

He'd felt utterly useless and still did sometimes. But then he too had become preoccupied with a certain someone, who, sexy as he was, also was incredibly stubborn and irritating most of the time.

He let out a sigh at the past. He would never forget being with Antonio, but he supposed he would eventually truly be over him.

A tap at his window had startled him to sit up and look out the window.

As if summoned by Francis' mind, down on the lawn was his little blond punk savior, triumphantly holding a bottle of what appeared to be pilfered Scottish whiskey.

He'd actually known the obnoxious Brit since the end of middle school, but had only enjoyed picking on him then.

Arthur had been a complete nerd in middle school.

He'd enjoyed the classical reading that they had to read in Literature class, and he'd been an unkempt mess.

His hair had been choppy and messy, his eyebrows thick as caterpillars (they still were), and he'd usually donned an outfit of a polo shirt, blazer, slacks, and loafers. And despite, his love for all things British punk, he'd been the epitome of Oxford nerd.

But in the summer before their junior year of high school, Arthur had come to school completely punked out and sexy as hell. His mother had died and with her, her son's older gentlemanly dress code, leaving a rebellious teen, bent on not heeding his new guardian, his older brother Jaime.

He hadn't truly noticed Arthur's new sex appeal until about 7 months ago, because before then he and the Brit had gotten along worse than they did now.

He opened the door to find Arthur leaning on the door jamb dangling the bottle of whiskey in one hand, green eyes sparkling with mischief. "Not sure if you need this or not Frog, but I certainly do," he said walking past Francis and into his house.

Francis looked at the clock which, read 2:00 pm. He'd dropped Arthur at home only an hour and a half ago.

"Didn't you need to go home? And why are we drinking whiskey at 2 pm?" Francis asked as he watched the other boy grab two high ball glasses from the cupboard.

"I feel like I'm needed here," he said over his shoulder, "Your house is too quiet and depressing. Plus I want to drink some more since I had to stay sober last night. Oh! And my brother is a total wanker, and actually doesn't have to work, so why would I want to stay home?" he said pouring the amber contents into the glasses.

"You're a total – how do you say - _sot_ when you drink _mon __ange,_" Francis said smiling and trying to make a British accent and failing on the word.

"Pfft. First of all, don't call me either of those things. Second, leave the British insults to me you bloody tosser," he said mildly indignantly.

Francis eyed his new conquest over the high ball and thought that maybe Antonio wasn't such a loss for him. _Did__ he __have __a__ green __eye __fetish?_ He may even salvage the last of his romantic spirit. And he was sure Arthur would insist in meeting him at least half way in a relationship, if not doing the whole thing himself, stubborn mule.

"I'm bored. Lets play a game, Frog," Arthur said pulling Francis from his thoughts. "What do you want to play?" Francis asked taking a sip of his own whiskey and making a face.

"I don't know but I've to use the toilet, but I'll meet you in the living room and we'll decide on something together" he said topping off his glass and looking for the whiskey bottle cap.

Francis stood a bit stunned. Arthur noticing that he hadn't moved turned and looked at him strangely. "What?" he asked warily.

Francis shook his head and smiled. "Nothing, _mon__ anglais_, I'll meet you there."

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><p><strong>French:<strong>

**Salut_-_**Hello

**le roi de la romance!** - the king of romance

**Spanish:**

**Tranquilo,mi amigo**- Relax, my friend...

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Selfless France is Selfless! I really love Antonio...so don't think he's being a selfish dick, he is just doesn't realize that Francis isn't being...well Francis. And he is actually the cause of why he's like that! OH WHAT A WORLD!...Anyway that's all the sex you get from these two!**

** I'm gonna finish up A Little Less Maple Syrup A Little More Action and then we will get to some much needed FrUk-ing! :D R&R BITTE BITTE!**

**Oh and Random side note: I watched a Kate Ryan Video right after I finished this and OMG too appropriate for this story. Look up the video for Mon Coeur Resiste Encore. Belgian Girl (Kate Ryan), Spanish Guy (Matador), all sung in FRENCH! hahaha le sigh**


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